This is my first post, so I hate to have it be about crime, but it's a good story…
On Monday night (8pm) I watched a guy casing cars and trying door handles along 39th, eventually entering a neighbor's car at 39th and Ferdinand. Cops were called but were very busy (Halloween and all), and though the guy lingered and thoroughly searched the car, he finally wandered away just before the police arrived. Fortunately for us, the not-so-clever car prowler left his bag behind, which the cops collected, and after the police had moved on he returned to look for the bag. I called 911 again, and this time they caught him along Hudson between 39th and Rainier.
I seem to have a knack for spotting this kind of thing, and helped the cops bust another car prowler in the same area last spring. The lesson is: it's not hard to catch these guys, just everyone keep you eyes open for anything out of the ordinary. The activity that I've witnessed has all been afternoon or evening hours, so it's not just a wee-hours of the morning type of thing, while most of the neighborhood is asleep. Also a good idea not to leave anything too valuable in your car (or at least not out in the open).